Our Adventures

My day at the Allergy Academy's Kitchen Workshop, Kings College, London

Posted: 10 Jul 2014

I was recently invited to the Allergy Academy's Kitchen Workshop
at King's College in London. It was a training course for
healthcare professionals, designed to highlight the challenges of
managing food allergies for patients and their families. It was one
of those action-packed days where you're bombarded with useful
allergy information, and I loved it!

Firstly, the team of allergy dietitians gave us tips for
using
alternative ingredients in recipes to make them safe for
allergy sufferers. And then they selected various free from recipe
for us each to make. The only thing is, I went a little bit off
piste...

My free from Tomato, Onion and Garlic Focaccia Recipe
(dairy, soya, nut, egg & gluten free)
The organisers of the Allergy Academy's Kitchen Workshop had
planned for us all to make a free from recipe that would then be
evaluated at lunch time.

But being a bit of a maverick (or maybe I just didn't listen
properly) I had a look at the recipe and decided that I could
improve it. So I merrily adjusted, mixed, measured and tweaked and
although I didn't quite stick to the rules, my tomato, onion and
garlic focaccia was the business! See below for the recipe or
click here to print the
recipe.

Other useful allergy stuff I learned:Yam Flour - who knew? I hadn't come across
this flour before, but it was great for making wraps. Very durable
and the wraps didn't break apart.

Plamil ice cream powder - wow! This stuff
looks amazing, just add non-dairy milk, whisk and freeze. Plamil
are currently offering a 10% discount off your first order, so get
over there quickly!

Black bean spaghetti - this is a fun
alternative to 'normal' spaghetti and nutritionally very good as it
only contains black beans and water. But it seems to be mainly out
of stock online unless you buy in bulk. (And ouch! to the price tag
of just over £4 a packet!)

Loprofin Egg white replacer - this was
mentioned as being great for making egg free meringues (although we
didn't try) but it's scarily expensive (hence GP's being reluctant
to prescribe) and quite hard to find online.

Hypoallergenic Infant formula - the
dietitians recommended using this in sweet and savoury dishes to
help add nutritional value to children on dairy free diets.

Make your own seed butters - these were
suggested as a way to add nutritional value to a nut-allergic
child's diet. Select your seed, lightly toast, add a drizzle of oil
(and honey if you like it sweet) and blend.

The Miracle Whisk - this was mentioned a
great gadget to take on holidays/camping. It's a hand-powered whisk
- easy to use, no plug, just push! Move the handle up and down and
it'll rotate the wires. But alas, I can't find them easily
available in the UK. Except here on eBay. Has anyone got one?!

And finally, did you know that...? • Black lentils are also called Urad beans
• The fava bean is another name for broad bean
• Sorghum (which is a grain) is also called milo or jowar
• Chickpea flour also goes by the names of
gram, besan or garbanzo
• Sarrasin flour is really buckwheat flour in disguise (it's also
the French word for buckwheat; useful to know if you're sur le
continent)
• Canola oil is the alias for rapeseed oil

If you've got any other unusual names for allergy products, tell
me in the comments box below, or on Facebook or Twitter.

Method 1. Place warm water, ground linseed, sugar, dried
yeast in to a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. In another large bowl mix together the gram flour, potato
starch, gluten free self-raising flour, chopped onion, xanthan gum
and salt.
3. Then combine the yeast liquid mixture with the dry flour
mixture and mix in the oil and tomato purée.
4. Line a 30cm x 20cm baking tray with baking parchment and
lightly brush with olive oil.
5. Spread the dough mixture over the baking tray and leave to
rise in a warm place for 30 mins.
6. While your dough is rising pre-heat your oven to 190˚C / gas
mark 5.
7. Create the topping by mixing together garlic, plum tomatoes,
dried basil and oil in a small bowl.
8. Once your dough has risen, spoon over the garlic and tomato oil
topping and bake for 50 mins. Mwah! Perfetto.

Bring on your bakes! I'd love to see photos of your
finished focaccia. Head over to Facebook or Twitter to share them with me!

Disclaimer
Please note the content on this website should never be used to replace the professional advice, medical care, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. Therefore Allergy Adventures is not responsible for any consequences that may arise from using the information on this site.